Tori (Victoria) Olds, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist As a psychologist my goal is to help clients learn to be with themselves, and to be with others, in a healthier, more fulfilling way. My approach is very engaging and experiential, drawing on mindfulness-based approaches like AEDP, PACT, and Somatic Experiencing. I typically guide clients in slowing down and “being with” themselves more fully and without shame. I try to template this level of attentiveness through my own emotional engagement and respect for my clients and their experience. In this way, clients and I can collaborate in an atmosphere of openness and safety to address whatever is on their hearts or minds.

Module 1 - Presence: Developing Warmth and Strength

We will explore the central role of therapeutic presence in helping the client shift from avoidance toward engagement...whether that be engagement in their deeper self, their emotions, their relationships, or with the resources they need to stand in reality. We will unpack the various aspects of therapeutic presence, particularly the importance of embodying the two poles of warmth and strength. When the therapist exhibits both warmth and strength, the security this creates supports the client in coming into wholeness and taking risks.

Module 2 - Integration: Maintaining Social Engagement

We will explore the importance of developing integration in our nervous system as a therapist. We will discuss why our capacity to maintain intrapersonal, as well an interpersonal, integration is key for the therapy to unfold. We will also explore various avenues toward developing integration, such as the use of self-compassion, mindfulness, and engagement in healing work to overcome our own experiential avoidance. Some practical advice will be given in terms of finding the most healing therapeutic experiences for ourselves as clients--something that can be hard to come by.

Module 3 - Focus: Guiding the Client Inward

We will explore the importance of therapeutic focus. There is strong research that focused treatments get better results than non-focused (meandering) treatments. While short-term, structured treatments have an edge in this regard, it is possible to integrate the benefits of therapeutic focus into depth therapy. This is done through the theoretically informed use of mindfulness, where the client is actively guided to contact their inner world. In this chapter we will explore how the false dichotomy between focus and depth can be overcome through an experiential approach to therapy that taps into the benefits of both.

Module 4 - Collaboration: Working Past Resistance

We will explore the importance of developing a capacity to work effectively with client resistance and foster a relationship characterized by collaboration. We will explore the difference between the attachment system and the collaborative behavioral system, the latter which draws upon the client’s adult functioning and allows the therapy to be a collaboration between equals. We will also explore how working with anxiety is an important part of minimizing resistance, as is using interpersonal skills such as clear communication, non-defensiveness, and curiosity.

Module 5 - Dedication: Deliberate Practice and Focusing on the Basics

We will explore how the therapist’s commitment to growth and to flexibly meeting their clients needs powerfully predicts outcomes, as demonstrated by the supershrink research. This research studies what separates some clinicians from others in terms of results, and the bottom line is when therapists can approach their work with humility, a sensitivity to client engagement, a capacity to make shifts as needed, and the willingness to put in work between sessions, they get better outcomes. The fact that clinicians who try harder, do better, begs the question, “how does one try harder?” This is where deliberate practice comes in as a way of approaching growth that is experiential, embodied, and focused on actual skill development. Research shows that when therapists take their learning beyond simply cognitive understanding and actually regularly practice their skills--in the same way a pianist would practice scales--they get better results.

Module 1 - Presence: Developing Warmth and Strength

1. Describe how therapeutic presence is key in helping clients move from avoidance toward engagement, which research has demonstrated to be a predictor of positive outcomes.
2. Explain the difference between self and other awareness and why both are important in fostering interpersonal integration in session.
3. Describe how the importance of therapeutic presence can be understood from the perspective of both attachment theory and positive psychology. 

Module 2 - Integration: Maintaining Social Engagement

1. Explain why the therapist’s level of neural integration (and the subsequent capacity to stay within the brain’s social engagement system in the face of emotional material), is essential for the work of therapy to progress. 
2. List at least three ways the therapist can develop their capacity to stay integrated and in the social engagement system during session.
3. Identify the process by which the therapist’s capacity for self-compassion is likely to translate into better outcomes for the client. 

Module 3 - Focus: Guiding the Client Inward

1. Explain how mindfulness can be used to bridge the gap between focused and depth therapies and in doing so draw on the benefits of both.
2. Describe why the common factors must be combined with specific factors and techniques in order for therapy to be maximally effective. 
3. Discuss why a theoretically-informed use of mindfulness is essential in helping the client engage in either discovery or reparative work, and why neither is likely to happen in the absence of therapeutic focus.

Module 4 - Collaboration: Working Past Resistance

1. Identify the collaborative behavioral system and outline why it is important to bring online during the therapy process. 
2. Explain why effective management of anxiety in session is critical in minimizing resistance.
3. List the four key skills that are essential in developing a collaborative working relationship with the client. 

Module 5 - Dedication: Deliberate Practice and Focusing on the Basics

1. List the key findings of the supershrink research and what it has taught us about achieving therapeutic excellence.
2. Explain the types of activities therapists who get excellent results tend to do between sessions.
3. Identify deliberate practice and describe how it can be applied to the field of psychotherapy.

Mental Health Professionals including Psychologists, Social Workers, LPCs, and LMFTs.

Evaluations

A course evaluation is required to obtain the CEs.  An email will be sent to each participant after the conclusion of the course with instructions on how to complete the evaluation and obtain the CE Certificate.

Deep Eddy Psychotherapy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Deep Eddy Psychotherapy maintains responsibility for this program and its contents.

Continuing Education credits offered by Deep Eddy Psychotherapy:

10.0 Credits for Psychologists

10.0 Credits for Social Workers in Texas (Sponsor # 7082),

10.0 Credits for LPCs in Texas (Sponsor # 2690)

10.0 Credits for LMFT in Texas (Sponsor # 1113)

Most states accept continuing education courses offered by CE Sponsors (which Deep Eddy is) for APA credits. Check with your governing board to obtain a final ruling.

This course is $297. You can purchase it here.

If you for some reason are not satisfied with the course you have 7 days from the first live call to request a cancellation and a refund. Please refer to the policy section for details on how to cancel.

Commercial Support Disclaimer

This program is provided solely by the Academy of Therapy Wisdom and its teachers. There is no conflict of interest for this program.

Disability Access

If you require ADA accommodations please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification.

Cancellation Policy

You may request a refund up to 7 days after the first live call. Please contact support@therapywisdom.com if you wish to cancel your purchase.

After July 29th, 2022 you will no longer be eligible for a refund and will be responsible for the payment in full.

For questions or concerns, please send an email to support@therapywisdom.com.